Neurosurgeons are spine surgeons by nature and receive training in spine surgery throughout their residency.

Orthopedic spine surgeons generally do not get as much spine surgery training in residency, however they complete a spine surgery fellowship after residency. It ultimately comes down to the individual surgeon and how comfortable you are with them and he/she is with particular procedure.
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The thumb and first two (pointer and middle) fingers are innervated by the median nerve.

The median nerve is the nerve that is decompressed during carpal tunnel surgery and it is not uncommon to have some numbness in the fingers afterwards. This will usually get better over the next several days to weeks.
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